For Our Sake
by PhoenixSong4232
Summary: Zoro has yet to recover from his run in with Bartholomew Kuma and is awakened to this reality when he is unable to protect Nami during an attack. Following this act he pushes himself harder, only to have the sense talked into him by the navigator herself.


**A/N: Hey everybody! Not much to say here except this story contains slight Zoro/Nami fluff. I'm a fan of both ZoNa and LuNa but this story focuses more on Zoro/Nami w/ tiny hints of LuNa. This takes place pretty directly after the Thriller Bark arc… **

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece**

…………

Nami sighed contentedly as she stared up at the perfectly cloudless blue sky stretching for miles in front of them, a welcome relief from Thriller Bark's creepy fogs and shrouded mists. Her crew was scattered here and there across the Thousand Sunny's deck, clearly just as happy to be out in the comforting weather as she was. A pleasant tune wafted through the air as Brook, the newest member of their crew, had pulled his violin from his case and was now playing away happily much to the delight of Luffy and the others. She hid a grin as she watched her captain grab a startled Chopper by his hoofs and dance around with him, swinging the reindeer around and around in circles.

Usopp laughed and clapped along with the music while Franky glanced up from refilling their cola barrels and even Robin put her book down for a minute to listen, a pleasant smile gracing the dark haired beauty's face.

"NAMI-SWAAAAN! ROBIN-CHWAAAAAN!" Sanji cried as he practically somersaulted from the kitchen out to the deck. "Your drinks are here-agh!" he spluttered as Nami bashed him over the head, of course waiting to do so until after she had safely secured the beverages.

"Shh! Listen," she snapped, turning her attention back to the skeleton's playing. Sanji ignored the growing bump on his head and promptly sat himself down beside his beloved Nami-swan, naturally more than happy to follow her instructions. Zoro, Nami noted, was nowhere to be found. The idiot swordsman had shut himself up in the crows nest again and had yet to come out though the distinct sound of metal weights clinking together could barely be heard over the pleasant melodies issuing from Brook's violin. The girl frowned. If the stupid marimo wanted to be antisocial and miss out on the music that was perfectly okay with her. Huffing she turned back to their skeleton nakama, the smile returning to her lips as soon as she saw Luffy and Chopper's laughing faces. Today was perfect and nothing was going to ruin it…

"MARINES! MARINES OFF THE STARBOARD SIDE!" Except of course, that. The navigator leapt to her feet and glanced over to where Usopp was pointing and yelling like a madman, the peaceful moment of seconds ago already forgotten.

"Dammit," Sanji swore as his eyes located the fleet of battleships rapidly making their way towards them. "Franky! Coup de burst!" The cyborg swore loudly as he jumped up, motioning angrily towards the half filled barrels beside him.

"The damned things aren't filled yet!" he snapped, throwing an empty cola can a little too hard and accidentally smashing it to bits across the deck. Sanji clucked his tongue in frustration, turning back to the fleet and lighting the cigarette in his mouth.

"Guess we're just going to have to fight 'em," he murmured, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"A-all of them?" Chopper stuttered, staring at the five or six ships rapidly closing the distance between themselves and the Sunny.

"Yahoo! Sounds like fun!" Luffy snickered, pulling himself onto their ship's second level and cracking his knuckles threateningly. "Oi, Zoro! Marines!" The sound of metallic clinking stopped and there was a slight pause before the door opened and the ex pirate hunter stepped out, sliding down the ladder before unsheathing Sandai Kitetsu and Shuusui in one swift movement, a rather feral sneer on his face. Nami shivered and took a couple steps away from him. She hated it when he got like that; it was just creepy.

The marine ships were nearly upon them by the time Usopp and Franky pulled the cannons out, quick to return fire. With the sniper's keen eye they sank two of the six opposing ships almost instantly, watching the ensuing chaos in satisfaction. Yet despite their expert aiming, four of the six still remained and were wasting no time raining cannonballs of their own down on the crew. Franky, Sanji, Zoro, and Luffy made quick work of the ones aimed towards the ship yet the hail of cannon fire refused to let up, showering them with a fresh wave as soon as they'd rid themselves of the first.

Nami's eyes widened in horror as she glanced up only to realize that, while the rest of the crew had been fighting off the cannon balls, the marine ships had continued to get closer and closer to them, the men on board scurrying around and preparing to board their ship.

"Luffy! They're coming!" she screamed, hoping the captain would get the message behind what she was trying to say. A smirk materialized on Sanji's face as he kicked a cannon ball back in the direction of the marine ship before landing gracefully on his feet.

"So they want to see how they fare up close huh?" he murmured, not sounding too disappointed at the prospect. The two ships on the left shot grappling hooks towards the Sunny while the two on the right kept the Straw Hat's busy with their constant cannon fire.

"Prepare to board! Capture the head of Straw Hat Luffy!" Nami heard the cry go out and immediately whirled around to see Marines dashing off their ship and across the ropes, already prepared to leap onto the Sunny's deck. Whipping out her clima tact she swung it around, shooting darkening clouds in the direction of the marine's ship.

"Beware of thunderstorms gentlemen!" she yelled, a smirk on her face as she fired a thunder ball into the heart of the black cloud mass. "THUNDER TEMPO!" The Marines never saw what hit them as streaks of lightening rained down from the storm cloud that had suddenly appeared above their heads. With strangled cries they tipped sideways off their rope supports and into the frothing ocean below.

"AMAZING NAMI-SWAN!" The navigator rolled her eyes, pointedly ignoring the love struck blonde's words of praise.

"Pay attention Ero-Cook!" Zoro's angry shout brought Nami's gaze whirling back to her crew's fight where the swordsman had just sliced a cannonball in half that had been headed directly for the unsuspecting Chopper. Despite Sanji's quick lapse of attention Nami was glad to see that her nakama seemed to have things under control and returned her attention to the marines that were still determinedly charging across the ropes, despite the earlier fate of their comrades. Gritting her teeth she rapidly summoned up another cloud, knowing halfway through that she wouldn't be able to stop all of them from getting across in time.

Almost instantly Robin was at her side, crossing her arms over her chest as she concentrated on using her devil fruit abilities, summoning multiple arms across the surface of the ropes and throwing the unsuspecting marines off. Nami grinned gratefully at her before turning her attention back to the storm cloud and firing off another thunder ball, promptly disposing of the remaining marines.

Despite their efforts, more of the men continued to charge across the ropes and towards the Sunny, yelling angrily and raising their blades in the air. Robin had to make a hasty retreat when one of them took a swipe at one of her hands with his sword, cutting a nasty looking gash across her palm.

"Robin!" Nami cried as the woman cradled her hand to her chest, wincing in pain.

"I'm fine," she quickly responded, easing Nami's worries slightly.

"Chopper!" the orange haired woman shouted, grasping the little reindeer's attention. He quickly scurried over, took one look at Robin's wound and immediately yanked a column of bandages from his bag. Nami returned her attention to the charging marines and gasped as she realized they were almost upon her. Gritting her teeth she swung the clima tact around, sending sparks of electricity shooting off the end of it as she prepared to meet the enemy in battle.

"Luffy they're boarding!" Chopper shouted, his small voice sounding panicked.

"WEAPONS LEFT!" The roaring cry came from the crew's token cyborg as he immediately shot a gale of bullet's over his crewmates heads and into the flock of charging marines. His actions were met with shouts of anguish and frustration, quickly followed by more splashing as the wounded tumbled into the water. Yet despite all this the enemy still continued to come and it wasn't long before the first wave jumped over the rail and set foot on Sunny's deck. Franky and Chopper stepped protectively in front of Nami and Robin, a cool fire in their eyes as they prepared to engage the enemy.

"Yohohoho!" A flash of steel caught Nami's eye and she glanced to her right to see Brook meeting a shocked looking marine in combat. The girl didn't bother hiding the smirk that spread across her face, knowing their newest crewmate's appearance was probably catching the marines more than a little bit off guard. Knowing she wasn't nearly as effective in close combat instances such as these the navigator retreated a bit, turning to see how Sanji, Luffy, Usopp, and Zoro were faring against the relentless rain of cannon fire. The four were holding out just fine though, upon closer inspection, Nami noticed that Zoro seemed to be breathing just a bit harder than normal.

It wasn't long before the rain of cannons suddenly stopped completely and Nami realized it was probably for fear of hitting their own comrades. The girl's smirk widened and she wondered if the marines knew that, seeing how they no longer had to protect the ship, the monstrous strength of her three nakama could be unleashed against their enemy in full. The thought had barely left her head when Zoro, Sanji, and Luffy came vaulting over the rail to assist Chopper, Brook, Franky, and Robin while Usopp creamed another marine vessel with his cannon, leaving just three afloat.

"HAHA! This is what happens when you stand against the might of CAPTAAAAAAIN USOPP!" the long nose cheered, pumping a fist into the air and promptly ducking as a broken sword chose that moment to hurtle over his head. Nami breathed a sigh of relief at the near miss before something else caught her eye. The girl blanched as the remaining ship off the starboard side was suddenly moving much closer to them, no longer firing their cannons but now clearly preparing to board as well.

"Usopp! Shoot it down!" Nami screamed over the sound of battle. The sniper bit his lip as he let another cannonball go screaming through the air in direct route towards it's target. A boom followed this reaction as the marine ship fired a cannon of their own, the ball directly crashing into the one Usopp had shot, the two exploding in mid air and sending debris flying into the ocean.

"Damn it!" Nami screeched, once more raising her clima tact into the air and sending dangerous looking clouds hovering towards the opposing ship. The sound of gun shots were heard and it didn't take the girl long to realize they were shooting at her.

"Nami get down!" Usopp shouted and the next thing she knew she was being tackled onto the deck by her long nosed friend as bullets whizzed over their heads.

"Nami! Usopp!" The yell was Chopper's and Nami quickly sat up to let the reindeer know she was okay and to keep from further distracting him from the hordes of marines attacking. Usopp squeaked as the metal end of a grappling hook suddenly clanked into the ship two feet from where they were sprawled out, quickly latching onto the edge and paving way for the marines to board. The sniper immediately jumped to his feet, pulling Kabuto out from its place on his back and firing off a couple Tabasco pachinko before once more having to dive for cover as the marines answered his attack with gun shots of their own.

"Why the heck are there so many of them!" he cried. Nami didn't have a chance to respond as the marines suddenly leapt onto the deck, their eyes immediately falling onto the two kneeling in front of them.

"N-N-N-Nami!!!!!!!" Usopp stuttered, scuttling backwards and crashing into the stairwell.

"Usopp get back to the cannon and shoot their ship down!" Nami ordered, leaping to her feet and not particularly caring that the marines could hear every word she was saying.

"But what about you?" the long nose hissed.

"I'll cover you!" Nami replied determinedly, holding the sparking clima tact in front of her threateningly.

"Are you crazy!?" Usopp spluttered.

"GO!" Nami shouted, lashing out at the marines with the fully charged thunder. The sniper grit his teeth but did as he was told, turning around and high tailing it towards the cannon. The navigator turned back to the enemy in front of her, trying to ignore the fact that they had raised their guns and were now pointing them at her. She wasn't like Luffy or Franky…those bullets would do damage. She wasn't however, under any circumstances, going to show her fear.

"FI-" the shout was caught in the marine's throat by the fact that a sudden gash had appeared in his torso, stretching from his shoulder to his belly button. "Wh-what…?" he choked before falling backwards. Nami blinked in surprise as she suddenly found herself standing behind Zoro's muscular frame, all three swords drawn and ready for action, each already dripping with the blood of his enemies. A smirk spread across Nami's face as she shifted her weight from one leg to another.

"You're late," she told him shortly. A smirk of his own spread across the swordsman's lips as he crouched, ready to spring.

"Shut up, stupid woman," he hissed before springing into the melee. Nami was far used to the inhuman strength of her nakama, yet even so seeing them in action never failed to amaze her. To the navigator it looked as though Zoro was just swinging his swords around but the girl knew that each cut was done with a purpose, each stance helping him shift from one enemy to the next, the man's killing intent rolling off him in waves.

Somewhere in the battle the rope connecting the marine ship to the Sunny had been severed, temporarily cutting off the marines access to the starboard side of the deck. Before they had a chance to attach another, Usopp had them in range and had fired off a round of his own, promptly bringing the marine ship to its knees. Zoro meanwhile, made quick work of the remaining marines before turning back towards Nami, one eyebrow raised in slight amusement.

"Thanks for not frying the hell out of me," he said to her. Nami snorted.

"Thanks for finally showing up," she retorted with a shrug before grinning at him. "I figured you could handle it." The girl missed the smirk he sent in return for something in the corner of her vision suddenly caught her eye. One of the marines wasn't quite unconscious and was holding a cocked gun in his hand, aiming directly at the marimo, eyes set to kill. Zoro followed her train of sight towards the marine and immediately raised his blades, the feral sneer once more crossing over his lips.

A sudden wave of pain erupted in his chest and he gasped in surprise, dropping Shuusui and bringing a hand to his chest. There was a bang as the gun went off and Nami heard somebody scream. It wasn't until after she had shoved the swordsman out of the bullet's path that she realized the scream belonged to her, the initial reaction to the immense pain that had suddenly blossomed in her right shoulder.

Time slowed as she fell backwards, the sound her body made upon hitting the Sunny's deck nearly deafening in the silence that had enveloped the ship following the gunshot.

Then all hell broke loose.

"NAMI!!!!" Luffy let out a strangled yell and immediately leapt into the air, the look in his eyes one the marines present that day would not soon forget. "GEAR THIRD!" A gigantic foot suddenly descended on the remaining marine ships, immediately smashing them in half as those still present onboard screamed in terror. Sanji looked absolutely livid, letting out a bellow of rage and no longer having any mercy on those unfortunate enough to get in his way. Robin wasted no time racing to Nami's side shortly behind Chopper who had been there almost as soon as she hit the ground. Franky seemed to have gone berserk, firing off multiple rounds of cola powered bullets and wiping out any remaining marines with a 'STRONG HAMMER!' Brook let out a wail and immediately began slashing at his opponents with new vigor while Usopp merely stared at the scene in shock, his heart having frozen in his chest.

Zoro turned slowly towards the marine who still held the gun in a jittering hand, his eyes wide at what had just happened. Swallowing he turned to meet the gaze of the swordsman and immediately wished he could sink into the ship's deck. Seeing how this was not an option he nervously raised the gun again, one trembling finger on the trigger. Zoro moved towards him as though in a trance, his swords out and pointed at the trembling figure of the marine.

"Stay back!" the man squeaked, the gun rattling uncontrollably in his hand. The swordsman ignored his words, barely flinching as the second gun shot went off. Quicker than lightening he sliced the bullet in two, letting the halves fall harmlessly to the ground before returning his steel gaze to the man.

"I hope you're ready to die," he snarled. The marine squeaked, unable to reply as Zoro brought his swords down.

…………

The Thousand Sunny was, needless to say, not nearly as cheerful a place as it had been mere hours ago. The anxiety in the air could probably be sensed from miles away as everyone on the ship's deck had given up trying to distract themselves and were now gathered together moodily, waiting for any news on Nami. Robin was sitting on her lawn chair, her book unopened in her hand as she stared at the unmoving door leading to Chopper's sick room. Franky sat beside her, holding a hammer in one hand and a broken tool in the other though he was making no moves to fix it. Usopp had a rubber band stretched between his two fingers and was plucking it uselessly, biting his lip over and over again as if doing so would make him feel better. Sanji was a complete mess, sucking on a handkerchief that was already completely soaked through with the cook's dramatic tears while Brook sat beside him, staring at his violin dejectedly.

Luffy was sitting directly in front of Chopper's room, his legs folded, head cast down, hands clenched into fists at his sides. He was unusually silent and more than a little upset at being unable to do anything to assist the doctor. (He had been refused upon trying). Finally Robin had been able to convince him that nothing he could do at the moment would help his navigator and he had solemnly given up. Before he'd left the room however, the boy had taken the straw hat from atop his head and ever so carefully placed it on Nami's before leaving Chopper to tend to his patient. Zoro had once more shut himself up in the crows nest though this time there was no sound of clinking weights.

After what seemed like an eternity Chopper finally exited the room, wiping the sweat from his brow with a small hoof and sighing in exhaustion. Luffy leapt to his feet immediately, nearly tackling the small doctor in his urge to find out his navigator's condition.

"Chopper! Nami!? H-how's Nami!? She's okay right? She's not, she's not…" he trailed off, his eyes swimming dangerously. The reindeer sighed before smiling up at his captain, glad to be the bearer of good news.

"She's fine Luffy, she's just resting. The bullet hit her square in the shoulder but fortunately all vitals were avoided. She'll be okay as long as she stays rested," he said to him. Luffy blinked, digesting the information before stumbling backwards and nearly collapsing onto the ground, relief making his knees weak.

"Good… Th-that's good." There was a pause before he cautiously spoke up again. "Can I see her?" Chopper stared at his captain, caught off guard by the trembling in his voice. It was unusual to see Luffy so shook up much less asking permission for anything. The reindeer hesitated, knowing Nami needed her rest but hoping that maybe, at least this time, Luffy would understand the importance of being quiet.

"Yes but don't wake her up! She needs her rest!" the doctor told him sternly. Luffy's face broke into a wide smile and he nodded enthusiastically.

"Don't worry, I wont!" he promised.

"Luffy!" Said captain glanced down to see Sanji glaring at him.

"Eh? Sanji?" he inquired, cocking his head in confusion. The cook had fire in his eyes as he said:

"If I hear you woke up Nami-swan or bothered her at all I will personally throw you over board and take away your meat supply for a week!" he threatened. Luffy blinked before another grin spread across his face.

"Don't say scary things like that Sanji!" he replied, before turning and entering the room under Chopper's watchful eye. The cook cursed and folded his arms across his chest, pouting moodily.

"What's the depressed look for bro? Nami's gonna be fine!" Franky said with a grin, patting Sanji's shoulder with a massive fist. Usopp grinned.

"He's mad that he didn't ask to see her before Luffy," he replied. The blonde rounded on the long nose, a dangerous scowl on his face.

"Shut up! No dinner for you tonight!" he snapped before entering the kitchen and slamming the door behind him, leaving a protesting Usopp outside. Robin watched all of this with amusement sparkling in her eyes, glad to have the weight of worrying over Nami gone from her chest. A small frown on her face, she glanced up at the crows nest where Zoro had disappeared, hoping the swordsman wasn't giving himself too hard of a time. Though she hadn't witnessed it personally she could imagine what had probably taken place during the battle that day. At times Zoro was easier to read than an open book and she could only hope that he didn't let today's events bother him too badly. They would need him in the fights to come and it wouldn't do any of them any good if he was distracted… Robin knew Nami wouldn't be mad, it was more the swordsman's anger at himself that was going to be the issue.

……………

Nami groaned and opened her eyes, the world around her slowly coming into focus as her eyes adjusted to her dark surroundings. Blinking she frowned as she took in the scenery around her. Where exactly was she? The sound of soft snoring caught her attention and she glanced over to see Luffy sitting in a chair beside her, his head dropping onto his chest as he slept. Chopper was curled up on the bed at her feet, his head nestled in his small paws, his tail twitching every so often as he dreamed. The girl smiled as she realized she must be in the sick bay, the bandage wrapped around her shoulder proof that the small reindeer had done his job as usual.

She winced as a small zing of pain shot through her wound though it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been earlier. Smiling appreciatively at Chopper she slowly sat up and was surprised when something rather scratchy suddenly toppled off her head and into her lap. Blinking she was startled to see Luffy's hat lying there and it didn't take long for her to realize he must have given it to her sometime after she lost consciousness. Rather touched she gave her Captain a warm smile, something she would never allow while he was awake, and carefully placed the hat on the bed before swinging her legs over the side of the mattress and sliding off. It wouldn't do to wake Chopper and have him order her back to bed so she made her way across the room as quietly as she could, tip toeing out the door and shutting it silently behind her.

It was a beautiful night, the weather staying true to the pristine conditions it had been in that morning. A slight breeze blew her hair and ruffled the Sunny's sails gently as though trying to usher the ship itself to sleep. Staring up at the moon she knew she'd been lucky again that day. Any more to the left and the Straw Hat pirates would have had to find themselves a new navigator.

The familiar sound of clinking metal caught Nami's attention and she glanced up to the crows nest, amazed to hear the sound of Zoro's usual training exercises at this time of night.

"What in the world…?" she trailed off as she slowly made her way over to the ladder and set one foot on the rung, using her good arm to pull herself up. Her left arm however, refused to cooperate and she found she would have to give up going to the crows nest until after she was healed. Frowning she stepped back onto the deck and glared up towards where she knew the swordsman was, wanting to call his name but refusing to do so for fear of waking the crew and having Chopper come drag her back to bed. Chewing on her lip she glanced over to where Usopp usually was working on his pachinkos and was lucky to see a few of them lying next to a disheveled stack of papers and doodles.

Tip toeing over to where they lay she knelt down and carefully picked up a few before straightening back up and taking aim. She obviously didn't have Usopp's skill for hitting a target yet the crows nest was huge and hopefully her abilities weren't too lacking. Rearing back she let the first pachinko fly, watching in satisfaction as it made its way up through the air before bouncing harmlessly off the window of the crows nest. The sound of clanking metal stopped momentarily before starting up again, if anything with more vigor than before causing Nami to scowl in frustration.

"Come on you stupid swordsman," she hissed through clenched teeth, drawing back and once again letting the pachinko fly. This time after her missile met its mark the clanking definitely stopped and there was a pause before a distinctly green head appeared in the window. She gave a slight wave with her good hand, hoping that the idiot was smart enough to get the message and get his ass down the ladder without getting lost on the way. Sure enough after a moments pause the door to the crows nest opened and Zoro slid down the ladder, landing quietly in front of her, a questioning and, Nami noticed with a sick sense of glee, slightly concerned expression on his face.

"What the hell are you doing up? Chopper said you were supposed to rest," he snapped. Nami shrugged and wandered over to the side of the ship, staring out across the inky black waves.

"What Chopper doesn't know won't kill him," she replied with a slight smirk. "Besides if you say anything I'll raise your debt and you really can't afford that." Zoro scowled, crossing his arms across a sweat soaked shirt. There was a tiny pause in which neither spoke before the swordsman broke the silence.

"Did you want something?" he asked shortly, trying to think of any particular reason why Nami of all people seemed to want his attention in the middle of the night. The navigator turned towards him, leaning against the ship's side, favoring her shoulder.

"What are you doing up?" she asked pointedly. Zoro shrugged, avoiding her gaze as he turned his to the waters as well.

"I'm keeping wa-"

"No you're not." The girl sighed at the blank look he gave her. "Zoro we've been traveling together for awhile now. I'm smart enough to know that when you're legitimately keeping watch you're actually sound asleep in the crows nest. The fact that you're standing down here having a conversation with me proves that you aren't." The swordsman stared at her for the briefest of moments before shaking his head, his only good excuse taken.

"I guess I couldn't sleep," he replied, the response coming out as more of a mumble than anything.

"Thriller Bark get to you?" Nami asked, a slight sneer dancing across her features.

"No!" Zoro snapped, glaring at the giggling navigator.

"Then…?" Nami prompted. Zoro grit his teeth, crossing his arms stubbornly and once again refusing to look at her.

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything," he responded shortly.

"I'll lower your debt." Zoro's head swiveled around.

"What!?" he exclaimed. It was true, Nami wasn't exactly sure why she had just said that. The fact of the matter was she had lost count of how many beri Zoro actually owed her so it wasn't like her lowering his debt really affected anything; she could always make up a sum later. The truth was, as much as she hated to admit it, she was genuinely worried about the man standing before her, especially after seeing his condition during the battle that day.

"Does this have anything to do with you still being injured?" she asked, her voice quieter this time.

"I'm not-, I'm fine," he responded shortly, not really answering the question. Nami scowled.

"I didn't ask if you were fine you stupid idiot! I asked if you being up late training has anything to do with me getting hit by that bullet today instead of you!" A deafening silence followed this comment and Nami was amazed to see that Zoro had turned his back to her, his fists clenched and shaking at his sides.

"That shouldn't have happened." Nami almost didn't hear the murmur that left his lips yet she kept her mouth shut in case he would speak up again. "I was standing right there. You shouldn't have gotten hit, much less for my sake." A sigh escaped the navigator's lips and she slammed one fist into her curvy hip.

"You men and your stupid pride. What, so it's okay for you to protect me all the time but I can't do the same for you? Has it ever occurred to you that maybe every once in a damn while I don't want to play the role of damsel in distress? Sometimes I do get tired of having to be saved by you, Luffy, Sanji-kun, and the others all the time. What's wrong with once in my life me being able to protect you!?" she snapped.

"What if you had died, then what!?" Zoro exclaimed and Nami was surprised to hear the tiniest trace of genuine fear in his voice. The girl stared at him at a loss for words. Roronoa Zoro, ex pirate hunter, had actually been afraid for her life. "What the hell do you think that would have done to the crew? To Luffy? The hell would he have done if you died! Think about it, you stupid-…"

"Shut up!" Zoro blinked, taken aback by the venom in Nami's voice. "So you're saying that it's not okay for me to die, but if something like that were to happen to you it would be fine?" she hissed. Zoro hesitated.

"No, that's not what I'm saying," he responded lamely. Nami scowled.

"Then explain yourself please because that's the message I'm getting," she snapped.

"All I'm saying is that I should have been able to prevent both of us from getting hit by that damn marine!" the swordsman raged, his voice rising in volume.

"Well maybe if you'd let your wounds from before heal, you would have been able to!" she retorted angrily. Zoro stared at her for a moment.

"My wounds are healed, you stupid woman," he replied, though his voice held the slightest hint of hesitation.

"You really think we're stupid don't you? Chopper chases you around the ship with a roll of bandages every day for Pete's sake Zoro, and you say you're healed and think we're not going to notice that you're not? If that's the case you're a lot stupider than I thought you were. What happened today happened because you push yourself so hard for us!" There was a pause as she waited for him to respond, the breath in her lungs coming faster than she would have liked it to.

"I'm not-gck!" the marimo began, only to stop and stumble forward, a hand pressed to his chest, beads of sweat dripping down his face.

"Zoro!" Nami gasped, lurching forward to catch him and wincing as some of his weight was transferred to her wounded shoulder. Gingerly she helped him to his knees, keeping one arm around him for support while rubbing his back soothingly. The two stayed that way for awhile and Nami was surprised her nakama hadn't tried to shrug out of her grasp yet. Finally, after several minutes had passed, the swordsman spoke up.

"Luffy shouldn't have to be the one bailing us out all the time. He pushes himself to his limits in order to make sure that we all come out okay. That idiot doesn't have any regard for his own life or what we'd all do if something were to happen to him," he muttered. "If I train even more than I have already, maybe I could stop being so damn weak and actually be able to help him for once." Despite the circumstances Nami couldn't help the small smile that suddenly folded onto her lips.

"You know, Luffy isn't the only idiot that pushes himself too hard. Just look at the condition you're in now," she murmured. Zoro snorted but made no response. "I understand you wanting to get stronger to help Luffy, believe me we all do. But please, for our sake as well as yours, take care of yourself too. I think Luffy needs you a lot more than you might think and he'd be devastated if anything were to happen to you…we all would be, even Sanji-kun." Zoro almost spoke up at this but she shushed him.

"If you don't want to take care of yourself because you don't care, then at least think about us. Take care of yourself so we won't worry about you and so you can protect us better during fights like the one today. That way things like this," she motioned to her shoulder, "won't happen again." There was a small pause before Zoro shook his head, a slight smirk on his face.

"It's not like you to get this sentimental, stupid woman," he said. Nami rolled her eyes and stood, removing her arm from around his shoulders as he got to his feet as well.

"And it's not like you to look so pathetic," she shot back before turning and slowly taking a step towards the sick bay.

"P-pathetic! Oi, watch your mouth, ugly witch!" he shot back. Nami whirled on him and Zoro flinched, expecting a hard punch to the head despite the fact she could barely reach. Because of this he was incredibly caught off guard when instead of feeling a fist making contact with his skull, he felt warm arms gingerly encircling his torso, pulling him into an amazingly unexpected embrace from the 'ugly witch' herself. He blinked, staring in blatant confusion at the top of her head, his cheeks feeling more than a little bit warm. He'd seen her hug Chopper before, that was to be expected, and even give the Ero-Cook a hug or two when she really wanted something. Robin got hugs all the time and even Luffy had received a friendly embrace when she was REALLY in a good mood or incredibly drunk. But never, in their entire time together, had she ever hugged him.

"I would be upset too you know, if anything ever were to happen to you…idiot," she mumbled into his shirt. Zoro smirked despite himself, quickly finding that this whole hugging business really wasn't so bad after all.

"Sure you would be, witch," he muttered in response, ever so carefully wrapping his arms around her as well. He missed the warm smile that melted onto Nami's face before it was rapidly replaced with her usual scowl and she stepped out of his embrace before promptly giving him a solid whack to the head.

"That's for your earlier comment you jerk, and I raised your debt again," she told him before turning on her heel and marching back towards the sick bay. Zoro's jaw dropped.

"Wh-what! Wait a minute, get back here!" he snapped but Nami merely waved to him before silently slipping back into Chopper's room and closing the door behind her. Zoro sighed, letting the breath whoosh from his lungs as he watched her vanish behind the door. Despite the fact that he now had a rather large bump on his head and an even larger amount of debt to be paid, he couldn't wipe the irritatingly genuine smile off his face as he turned his eyes to the twinkling heavens.

"Sleep well, stupid witch."

………………

**Hahaha well there it is, my first One Piece fan fiction. So I don't know if everything in this chapter was quite realistic (like Franky not being able to do Coup de Burst for example) but it was necessary for the story xD. Thanks so much for reading, any feedback you could give me would be excellent. Hopefully everyone was in character, it's REALLY hard writing Zoro hugging anyone… T_T**

**~Phoenix**


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